Overview

A cool person, lovely model INFO FOR PHOTO • My love @thepinupnoire at the Swann awards 2023 in Paris, at the Automobile club de France, Concorde square. •• Pic by @thestoryalist ••• Dandy Magazine celebrated its 20th anniversary with an AMAZING event/Gala. https://thepinupnoire.tumblr.com/post/730999305775824896 if you want your own , I do commissions https://www.deviantart.com/hddeviant/commission/Microcalligraphy-signatures-1487995 Complete Information on Calligraphy post Calligraphy Mirror - Angelique Noire 09/08/2019 - RMWorkCalendar - African American Literature Book Club Her tumblr archive- really great images and not just of her https://thepinupnoire.tumblr.com/archive Her images on her husbands tumblr https://guillaume-bo.tumblr.com/search/angelique

The Twilight Zone Season 2 Finale: "You Might Also Like" Breakdown & Easter Eggs! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaF_V750Z9w EMBED MY COMMENT the most upbeat episode is "A SMall Town" reminiscent of the twilight zone episodes like the man in the bottle the episode "a traveler" has the best use of a people rarely on tv, in this case indigenous reminding me of a big tall wish the epidoe "meet in the middle" reminds me of a number of twilight zone episodes with men behaving badly , the chaser the blurryman was a nice ode to rod, like a world of his own I think the variance in episodes in the original twilight zone occured in the peele variant.

Bois Caïman (Aug. 1791) is remembered as a secret night gathering of enslaved people in northern Haiti where they vowed to fight for freedom. Led by figures like Cécile Fatiman (often written “Fatima”), it’s widely seen as the spark of the Haitian Revolution the only successful slave uprising, which led to Haiti’s independence in 1804. In this artwork, Fatiman stands with a ritual knife and a black pig, while rebels hold torches behind her symbols of the oath and the uprising that followed. https://www.tiktok.com/@chevelin_illustration/video/7538579529476902174?cid=NzU0MDA4OTg1OTI4NjQwMTgyMg

How Publishing Has Changed Since 2015 URL https://janefriedman.com/how-publishing-has-changed-since-2015/ MY THOUGHTS All should check out the insight sections to audiobooks/paperbooks/ . They are good. HEre are some examples Audiobook https://janefriedman.com/audio-revenue-predicted-to-overtake-ebook-sales-by-2023/ https://janefriedman.com/this-studio-turns-successful-self-published-novels-into-hit-audiobooks/ Paper book https://janefriedman.com/major-media-coverage-doesnt-sell-books-like-it-used-to/ https://janefriedman.com/bindery-books-a-case-study-in-combining-traditional-industry-marketing-online-influencer-strength-to-launch-debut-novels/ Direct Sales Quote [ For authors who are able to look beyond book sales and even write beyond the book ] https://janefriedman.com/the-many-moving-parts-behind-brandon-sandersons-record-breaking-kickstarter-campaign/ https://janefriedman.com/how-authors-can-sell-books-direct-to-reader/ https://janefriedman.com/a-small-publisher-doubles-revenue-during-the-pandemic/ Hybrid or Collaborative https://janefriedman.com/key-book-publishing-path/ https://janefriedman.com/imho-a-nuanced-look-at-hybrid-publishers/ https://janefriedman.com/imho-authors-equity-is-for-the-elite-not-for-you/ https://janefriedman.com/imho-the-self-publishing-scene-includes-agents-all-around/ MY COMMENT I can't wait for the "What Hasn't Changed?" if you have a way to at commentors to your blog,through their email specifically, that will be cool. Sometimes people follow you or your newsletter,but have specific desires. Someone offline said they wanted to read an audiobook of mine, so I know audiobooks are doing it, because no one ever asked to read an ebook before offline to me, and no one has still. But it is clear audiobooks are the way, and that makes sense. The way human beings like to act offline, an audiobook allows someone to walk the street and look up but still not have to read. It is that middle ground? between text and video in some ways. For text or video both need your eyes. I know quite a few fellow artists who have crowdfunded but do you have to be a certain level of popularity first? I think so. The people i know who crowdfunded successfully in video/music/comic books have all done many conventions, have many email lists and a larger network than me. What markers of popularity should one look for before they try a kickstarter, if any? "For authors who are able to look beyond book sales and even write beyond the book" I have to admit, I learned this as well, I am just not as fast in the self selling as other artists, but I am getting there. In retrospect this was inevitable. The creative aspect of being an artist in any medium will never change, that is about displaying what comes from one's soul through some method to be experienced by all. But, the commercial aspect to modern, of the now not better or worse, art stems from the change from an industry based on patronage, having a father, a financial benefactor. To one in which the artist is also the fiscal operator. Not merely because they want to but because they must. And this is going to make the world of art change, commercially. I bet one day, writers of a certain level of popularity will accept payment by other writers to put small stories into their books, as a kind of paid assistance. If that isn't already happening. Lastly, though not leastly, thank you for your efforts Jane Friedman. You have helped me see the industry better. Referral https://www.linkedin.com/posts/janefriedman_how-publishing-has-changed-since-2015-jane-activity-7369442214227259392-xnR5?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAC9jwHcBhMdyfurNH2JmdlAPjJgXHivmWR8 MY COMMENT TO THE REFERRAL Thank you Jane Friedman you have been helpful from the first post I read of yours. It heard of you through Kobo first and have been reading your insights ever since. Hope you have greater prescience in the ten years to come and more positive changes in the literary industry in said time. I ask all who have learned from her or have good wills to spare to leave an inspiring comment to her postaluminumal journey. the following is mine https://janefriedman.com/how-publishing-has-changed-since-2015/#comment-69309

My Questions to BisBiswas of deviantart Bisbiswas https://www.deviantart.com/bisbiswas Save the date: QA with BisBiswas https://www.deviantart.com/kovowolf/journal/Save-the-date-QA-with-BisBiswas-1236705071 MY COMMENT I looked from the back of your gallery and I noticed many of your landscapes were of night, I think sacred dragon was your first strong daylight landscape, as well as the first that suggest in artistic style an east asian landscape structure... I can be wrong of course I know that strong contrasts between light and dark, chiaroscuro when done effectively, in various ways, are always potent to attract viewers and to make inspiring artworks. The darkness isn't empty. Now to my questions. Which I will provide a partial answer to, just to spark thoughts to whomever may read. 1. In your experience what differences are near constant between how viewers react or comment to landscapes with small dark figures in the light compared to landscapes with small light figures in the dark? 2. What are your favorite examples of landscape photography in film, animated or live action or claymation or puppetry or other? For mosaic, a local black artist did something that has been in my family for many years, i love looking at it. For animated films, I will say the set of landscape scenes in entire studio ghibli films selection with my favorite among them Mononoke, sorry Howl, Triplettes of Belleville, watership down. For claymation I will say, fantastic mr fox, the black wolf scene https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELqdLvz60zA the underground activities scene with bogus buns and beans stores above, and the landscaping art from Mrs. Fox For live action, I select Daughters of the Dust 1991 I still think the only film that covers the geechee lands like that, Lawrence of Arabia 1962 the desert I have luckily been to the edge of the Sahara, it is beautiful , and the Peter JAckson Lord of the Rings trilogy. A commercial entry at the end but they present new zealand brilliantly. As a writer I am very interested in the next two answers. 3. What is your favorite literary description of a landscape in any prose style, no poetry or song, in any language ? I love a miracle of rare device from Ray Bradbury, remember, I wish I could see Xanadu Text for those who may not have read https://thephilosopher.net/bredberi/wp-content/uploads/sites/429/2025/03/A-Miracle-of-Rare-Device-Ray-Bradbury.pdf if not available try this one https://1drv.ms/b/c/ea9004809c2729bb/Ef2lEmutxDRNvx0JC3PbvuMBY6S0Dti-SBtdfyMOyq3iXA?e=9q8Mqg TEXT EMBEDDED A Miracle of Rare Device, Ray Bradbury A Miracle of Rare Device On a day neither too mellow nor too tart, too hot nor too cold, the ancient tin lizzie came over the desert hill traveling at commotion speed. The vibration of the various armored parts of the car caused road-runners to spurt up in floury bursts of dust. Gila monsters, lazy displays of Indian jewelry, took themselves out of the way. Like an infestation, the Ford clamored and dinned away into the deeps of the wilderness. In the front seat, squinting back, Old Will Bantlin shouted, "Turn off!" Bob Greenhill spun-swung the lizzie off behind a billboard. Instantly both men turned. Both peered over the crumpled top of their car, praying to the dust they had wheeled up on the air. "Lay down! Lay low! Please!" And the dust blew slowly down. Just in time. "Duck!" A motorcycle, looking as if it had burned through all nine rings of hell, thundered by. Hunched over its oily handlebars, a hurricane figure, a man with a creased and most unpleasant face, goggled and sun-deviled, leaned on the wind. Roaring bike and man flung away down the road. The two old men sat up in their lizzie, exhaling. "So long, Ned Hopper," said Bob Greenhill. "Why?" said Will Bantlin. "Why's he always tailing us?" "Willy-William, talk sense," said Greenhill. "We're his luck, his Judas goats. Why should he let us go, when trailing us around the land makes him rich and happy and us poor and wise?" The two men looked at each other, half in, half out their smiles. What the world hadn't done to them, thinking about it had. They had enjoyed thirty years of nonviolence together, in their case meaning non-work. "I feel a harve’s coming on," Will would say, and they'd clear out of town before the wheat ripened. Or, "Those apples are ready to fall!" So they'd stand back about three hundred miles so as not to get hit on the head. Now Bob Greenhill slowly let the car, in a magnificent controlled detonation, drift back out on the road. "Willy, friend, don't be discouraged." "I've been through 'discouraged,' "said Will. "I'm knee deep in 'accepting." "Accepting what?" "Finding a treasure chest of canned fish one day and no can opener. Finding a thousand can openers next day and no fish." Bob Greenhill listened to the motor talking to itself like an old man under the hood, sounding like sleepless nights and rusty bones and well-worn dreams. "Our bad luck can't last forever, Willy." "No, but it sure tries. You and me sell ties and who's across the street ten cents cheaper?" "Ned Hopper." "We strike gold in Tonopah and who registers the claim first?" "Old Ned." "Haven't we done him a lifetime of favors? Aren't we overdue for something just ours, that never winds up his?" "Prune's ripe, Willy," said Robert, driving calmly. "Trouble is, you, me, Ned never really decided what we wanted. We've run through all the ghost towns, see something, grab. Ned sees and grabs, too. He don't want it, he just wants it because we want it. He keeps it 'till we're out of sight, then tears it up and hang-dogs after us for more litter. The day we really know what we want is the day Ned gets scared of us and runs off forever. Ah, hell." Bob Greenhill breathed the clear fresh-water air running in morning stream over the windshield. "It's good anyway. That sky. Those hills. The desert and ... His voice faded. Will Bantlin glanced over. "What's wrong?" "For some reason ..." Bob Greenhill's eyes rolled, his tanned hands turned the wheel slow, "we got to ... pull off ... the road." The lizzie bumped on the dirt shoulder. They drove down in a dusty wash and up out and suddenly along a dry pen of land overlooking the desert. Bob Greenhill, looking hypnotized, put out his hand to turn the ignition key. The old man under the hood stopped complaining about the insomnia, and slept. "Now, why did you do that?" asked Will Bantlin. Bob Greenhill gazed at the wheel in his suddenly intuitive hands. "Seemed as if I had to. Why?" He blinked up. He let his bones settle and his eyes grow lazy. "Maybe only to look at the land out there. Good. All of it been here a billion of years. "Except for that city," said Will Bantlin. "City?" said Bob. He turned to look and the desert was there and the distant hills the color of lions, and far out beyond, suspended in a sea of warm morning sand and light, was a kind of floating image, a hasty sketch of a city. "That can't be Phoenix," said Bob Greenhill "Phoenix is ninety miles off. No other big place around." Will Bantlin rumpled the map on his knees, searching. "No. No other town." "It's coming clearer!" cried Bob Greenhill, suddenly. They both stood absolutely straight up in the car and stared over the dusty windshield, the wind whining softly over their craggy faces. "Why, you know what that is, Bob? A mirage! Sure, that's t it! Light rays just right, atmosphere, sky, temperature. City's the other side of the horizon somewhere. Look how it jumps, fades in and out. It's reflected against that sky up there like a mirror and comes down here where we can see it! A mirage, by Gosh!" "That big,-" Bob Greenhill measured the city as it grew taller, clearer in a shift of wind, a soft far whirlabout of sand. "The granddaddy of them all! That's not Phoenix. Not Santa Fe or Alamogordo, no. Let's see. It's not Kansas City." "That's too far off, anyway." "Yeah, but look at those buildings. Big! Tallest in the country. Only one place like that in the world." "You don't mean-New York?" Will Bantlin nodded slowly and they both stood in the silence looking out at the mirage. And the city was tall and shining now and almost perfect in the early-morning light. "Oh, my," said Bob, after a long while. "That's fine." "It is," said Will. "But," said Will, a moment later, whispering, as if afraid the city might hear, "what's it doing three thousand miles from home, here in the middle of Nowhere, Arizona?" Bob Greenhill gazed and spoke. "Willy, friend, never question nature. It just sits there and minds its knitting. Radio waves, rainbows, northern lights, all that, heck, let's just say a great big picture got took of New York City and is being developed here, three thousand miles away on a mom when we need cheering, just for us." "Not just us." Will peered over the side of the car. "Look!" There in the floury dust lay innumerable crosshatchings, diagonals, fascinating symbols printed out in a quiet tapestry. "Tire marks," said Bob Greenhill. "Hundreds of them. Thousands. Lots of cars pulled off here." "For what, Bob?" Will Bantlin leaped from the car, landed on the earth, tromped it, turned on it, knelt to touch it with a swift and suddenly trembling hand. "For what, for what? To see the mirage?" "Yes, sir! To see the mirage!" "Boy, howdy!" Will stood up, thrummed his voice like a motor. "Brrrummm!" He turned an imaginary wheel. He ran along a tire track."Brrrumm! Eeeee! Brakes on! Robert, Bob, you know what we got here? Look east! Look west. This is the only point in miles you can pull off the highway and sit and stare your eyes out!" "Sure, it's nice people have an eye for beauty-" "Beauty, my socks! Who owns this land?" "The state, I reckon." "You reckon wrong! You and me! We set up camp, register a claim, improve the property, and the law reads it’s ours. Right?" "Hold on!" Bob Greenhill was staring out at the desert and the strange city there. "You mean you want to homestead a mirage?" "Right, by zingo! Homestead a mirage!" Robert Greenhill stood down and wandered around the car looking at the tire-treaded earth. "Can we do that?" "Do it? Excuse my dust!" In an instant Will Bantlin was pounding tent pegs into the soil, stringing twine. "From here to here, and here to here, it's a gold mine, we pan it, it's a cow we milk, it's a lakeful of money, we swim in it!" Rummaging in the car, he heaved out cases and brought forth a large cardboard which had once advertised cheap cravats. This, reversed, he painted over with a brush and began lettering. "Willy," said his friend, "nobody's going to pay to see any darned old-" "Mirage? Put up a fence, tell folks they can't see a thing, and that's just their itch. There!" He held up the sign. SECRET VIEW MIRAGE-THE MYSTERIOUS CITY 25 cents per car. Motorbikes a dime. "Here comes a car. Watch!" "William!" But Will, running, lifted the sign. "Hey! Look! Hey!" The car roared past, a buff ignoring the matador. Bob shut his eyes so as not to see Will's smile wiped away. But then-a marvelous sound. The squeal of brakes. The car was backing up. Will was leaping forward, waving, pointing. "Yes, sir! Yes, ma'am! Secret View Mirage! The Mysterious City! Drive right here!" The treadmarks in the simple dust became numerous, and then, quite suddenly, innumerable. A great ball of heat-wafted dust hung over the dry peninsula where in a vast sound of arrivals, with braked tires, slammed doors, stilled engines, the cars of many kinds from many places came and took their places in a line. And the people in the cars were as different as people can be who come from four directions but are drawn in a single moment by a single thing, all talking at first, but growing still at last at what they saw out in the desert. The wind blew softly about their faces, fluttering the hair of the women, the open shirt collars of the men. They sat in their cars for a long time or they stood out on the rim of the earth, saying nothing, and at last one by one turned to go. As the first car drove back out past Bob and Will, the woman in it nodded happily. "Thanks! Why, it is just like Rome!" "Did she say Rome or home?" asked Will. Another car wheeled toward the exit. "Yes, sir!" The driver reached out to shake Bob's hand. "Just looking made me feel I could speak French!" "French!" cried Bob. Both stepped forward swiftly as the third car made to leave. An old man sat at the wheel, shaking his head. "Never seen the like. I mean to say, fog and all, Westminster Bridge, better than a postcard, and Big Ben off there in the distance. How do you do it? God bless. Much obliged." Both men, disquieted, let the old man drive away, then slowly wheeled to look out along their small thrust of land toward the growing simmer of noon. "Big Ben?" said Will Bantlin. "Westminster Bridge? Fog?" Faintly, faintly, they thought they heard, they could not be sure, they cupped their ears, wasn't that a vast clock striking three times off there beyond land's rim? Weren't foghorns calling after boats and boat horns calling down on some lost river? "Almost speak French?" whispered Robert. "Big Ben? Home? Rome? Is that Rome out there, Will?" The wind shifted. A broiling surge of warm air tumbled up, plucking changes on an invisible harp. The fog almost solidified into gray stone monuments. The sun almost built a golden statue on top of a breasted mount of fresh-cut snow marble. "How----" said William Bantlin, "how could it change? How could it be four, five cities? Did we tell anyone what city they'd see? No. Well, then, Bob, well!" Now they fixed their gaze on their last customer, who stood alone at the rim of the dry peninsula. Gesturing his friend to silence, Robert moved silently to stand to one side and behind their paying visitor. He was a man in his late forties with a vital, sunburned face, good, warm, clear-water eyes, fine cheekbones, a receptive mouth. He looked as if he had traveled a long way around in his life, over many deserts, in search of a particular oasis. He resembled those architects found wandering the rubbled streets below their buildings as the iron, steel and glass go soaring up to block out, fill in an empty piece of the sky. His face was that of such builders who suddenly see reared up before them on the instant, from horizon to horizon, the perfect implementation of an old, old dream. Now, only half aware of William and Robert beside him, the stranger spoke at last in a quiet, an easy, a wondrous voice, saying what he saw, telling what he felt: "In Xanadu ... " "What?" asked William. The stranger half smiled, kept his eyes on the mirage and quietly, from memory, recited. "In Xanadu did Kubla Khan A stately pleasure-dome decree Where Alph, the sacred river, ran Through caverns measureless to man, Down to a sunless sea." His voice spelled the weather and the weather blew about the other two men and made them more still. "So twice five miles of fertile ground With walls and towers were girdled round And here were gardens bright with sinuous rills, Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree. And here were forests ancient as the hills, Enfolding sunny spots of greenery." William and Robert looked off at the mirage, and what the stranger said was there, in the golden dust, some fabled Middle East or Far East clustering of minarets, domes, frail towers risen up in a magnificent sift of pollen from the Gobi, a spread of river stone baked bright by the fertile Euphrates, Palmyra not yet ruins, only just begun, newly minted, then abandoned by the departing years, now shimmered by heat, now threatening to blow away forever. The stranger, his face transformed, beautified by his vision, finished it out: "It was a miracle of rare device, A sunny pleasure-dome with caves of ice" And the stranger grew silent. Which made the silence in Bob and Will all the deeper. The stranger fumbled with his wallet, his eyes wet. "Thank you, thank you." "You already paid us," said William. "If I had more, you'd get it all." He gripped William's hand, left a five dollar bill in it, jumped into his car, looked for a last time out at the mirage, then sat down, started the car, idled it with wonderful case at face glowing, eyes peaceful, drove away. Robert walked a few steps after the car, stunned. Then William suddenly exploded, flung his arms up, whooped, kicked his feet, wheeled around. "Hallelujah! Fat of the land! Full dinner plate! New squeaky shoes! Look at my fistfuls!" But Robert said, "I don't think we should take it." William stopped dancing. "What?" Robert looked steadily at the desert. "We can't ever really own it. It's way out there. Sure, we can homestead the land, but ... We don’t even know what that thing is." "Why, it's New York and-" "Ever been to New York?" "Always wanted. Never did." "Always wanted, never did." Robert nodded slowly. "Same as them. You heard: Paris. Rome. London. And this last mate Xanadu. Willy, Willy, we got hold of something strange an big here. I'm scared we don't do right by it." "Well, we're not keeping anyone out, are we?", "Who knows? Might be a quarter's too much for some. It don't seem right, a natural thing handled by unnatural rules. Look and tell me I'm wrong." William looked. And the city was there like the first city he had seen as a boy when his mother took him on a train across a long meadow of heath early one morning and the city rose up head by head, tower by tower to look at him, to watch him co near. It was that fresh, that new, that old, that frightening, that wonderful. "I think," said Robert, "we should take just enough to buy gas for a week, put the rest of the money in the first poor-box we come to. That mirage is a clear river running, and people coming by thirsty. If we're wise, we dip one cup, drink it cool in the heat of the day and go. If we stop, build dams, try to own the whole river ..." William, peering out through the whispering dust wind, tried to relax, accept. "If you say so." "I don't. The wilderness all around says." "Well, I say different!" Both men jumped and spun about. Half up the slope stood a motorcycle. Sitting it, rainbowed with oil, eyes goggled, grease masking his stubbly cheeks, was a man of familiar arrogance and free-running contempt. "Ned Hopper!" Ned Hopper smiled his most evilly benevolent smile, unbraked the cycle and glided the rest of the way down to halt by his old friends. "You----,' said Robert. "Me! Me! Me!" Ned Hopper honked his cycle horn four times, laughing loud, head back. "Me!" "Shut up!" cried Robert. "Bust it like a mirror." "Bust what like a mirror?" William, catching Robert's concern, glanced apprehensively out beyond at the desert. The mirage flurried, trembled, misted away, then hung itself like a tapestry once more on the air. "Nothing out there! What you guys up to?" Ned peered down at the treadmarked earth. "I was twenty miles on today when I realized you boys was hiding back behind. Says to myself, that ain't like my buddies who led me to that goldmine in forty-seven, lent me this cycle with a dice roll in fifty-five. All those years we help each other and now you got secrets from friend Ned. So I come back. Been up on that hill half the day, spying." Ned lifted binoculars from his greasy jacket front. "You know I can read lips. Sure!" Saw all the cars run in here, the cash. Quite a show you’re running!" "Keep your voice down," warned Robert. "So long." Ned smiled sweetly. "Sorry to see you go. But I surely do respect your getting off my property." "Yours!" Robert and William caught themselves and said in a trembling whisper, "Yours?" Ned laughed. "When I saw what you was up to, I just cycled into Phoenix. See this little bitty governmen’ paper sticking out my back pocket?" The paper was there, neatly folded. William put out his hand. "Don't give him the pleasure," said Robert. William pulled his hand back. "You want us to believe you filed a homestead claim?" Ned shut up the smile inside his eyes. "I do. I don't. Even if I was lying, I could still make Phoenix on my bike quicker'n your jalopy." Ned surveyed the land with his binoculars. "So just put down all the money you earned from two this afternoon, when I filed my claim, from which time on you was trespassing my land." Robert flung the coins into the dust. Ned Hopper glanced casually at the bright litter. "The U.S. Government Mind. Hot dog, nothing out there, but dumb bunnies willing to pay for it!" Robert turned slowly to look at the desert. "You don't see nothing?" Ned snorted. "Nothing, and you know it!" "But we do!"" cried William. "We--" "William," said Robert. "But, Bob!" "Nothing out there. Like he said." More cars were driving up now in a great thrum of engines. "Excuse, gents, got to mind the box office!" Ned strode off, waving. "Yes, sir, ma'am! This way! Cash in advance!" "Why?" William watched Ned Hopper run off yelling. "Why are we letting him do this?" "Wait," said Robert, almost serenely. "You'll see." They got out of the way as a Ford, a Buick and an ancient Moon motored in. Twilight. On a hill about two hundred yards above the Mysterious City Mirage viewpoint, William Bantlin and Robert Greenhill fried and picked at a small supper, hardly bacon, mostly beans. From time to time, Robert used some battered opera glasses on the scene below. "Had thirty customers since we left this afternoon," he observed. "Got to shut down soon, though. Only ten minutes of sun left." William stared at a single bean on the end of his fork. "Tell me again: Why? Why every time our luck is good, Ned Hopper jumps out of the earth." Robert sighed on the opera-glass lenses and wiped them on his cuff. "Because, friend Will, we are the pure in heart. We shine with a light. And the villains of the world, they see that light beyond the hills and say, "Why, now, there's some innocent, some sweet all-day sucker." And the villains come to warm their hands at us. I don't know what we can do about it, except maybe put out the light." "I wouldn't want to do that." William brooded gently, his palms to the fire. "It's just I was hoping this time was comeuppance time. A man like Ned Hopper, living his white underbelly life, ain't he about due for a bolt of lightning?" "Due?" Robert screwed the opera glasses tighter into his eyes. "Why, it just struck! Oh, ye of little faith!" William jumped up beside him. They shared the glasses, one lens each, peering down. "Look!" And William, looking, cried, "Peduncle Q. Mackinaw!" "Also, Gullable M. Crackers!" For, far below, Ned Hopper was stomping around outside a car. People gesticulated at him. He handed them some money. The car drove off. Faintly you could hear Ned's anguished cries. William gasped. "He's giving money back! Now he almost hit that man there. The man shook his fist at him! Ned’s paid him back, too! Look more fond farewells!" "Yah-hee!" whooped Robert, happy with his half of the glasses. Below, all the cars were dusting away now. Old Ned did a violent kicking dance, threw his goggles into the dust, tore down the sign, let forth a terrible oath. "Dear me," mused Robert. "I'm glad I can't hear them words. Come on, Willy!" As William Bantlin and Robert Greenhill drove back up to the Mysterious City turn-off, Ned Hopper rocketed out in a screaming fury. Braying, roaring on his cycle, he hurled the painted cardboard through the air. The sign whistled up, a boomerang. It hissed, narrowly missing Bob. Long after Ned was gone in his banging thunder, the sign sank down and lay on the earth, where William picked it up and brushed it off. It was twilight indeed now and the sun touching the far hills and the land quiet and hushed and Ned Hopper gone away, and the two men alone in the abandoned territory in the thousand-treaded dust, looking out at the sand and the strange air. "Oh, no..." "Yes," said Robert. The desert was empty in the pink-gold light of the set ting sun. The mirage was gone. A few dust devils whirled and fell apart, way out on the horizon, but that was all. William let out a huge groan of bereavement. "He did it! Ned! Ned Hopper, come back, you! Oh, damn it, Ned, you spoiled it all! Blast you to perdition!" He stopped. "Bob, how can you stand there!" Robert smiled sadly. "Right now I'm feeling sorry for Ned Hopper. He never saw what we saw. He never saw what anybody saw. He never believed for one second. And you know what? Disbelief is catching. It rubs off on people." William searched the disinhabited land. "Is that what happened?" "Who knows?" Robert shook his head. "One thing sure: when folks drove in here, the city, the cities, the mirage, whatever, was there. But it's awful hard to see when people stand in your way. Without so much as moving, Ned Hopper put his big hand across the sun. First thing you know, theater's closed for good." "Can't we--" William hesitated. "Can't we open it up again?" "How? How do you bring a thing like that back?" They let their eyes play over the sand, the hills, the few long clouds, the sky emptied of wind and very still. "Maybe if we just look out the sides of our eyes, not direct at it, relax, take it easy..." They both looked down at their shoes, their hands, the rocks at their feet, anything. But at last William mourned, "Are we? Are we the pure in heart?" Robert laughed just a little bit. "Oh, not like the kids who came through here today and saw anything they wanted to see, and not like the big simple people born in the wheat fields and by God's grace wandering the world and will never grow up. We're neither the little children nor the big children of the world, Willy, but we are one thing: glad to be alive. We know the air mornings on the road, how the stars go up and then down the sky. That villain, he stopped being glad a long time ago. I hate to think of him driving his cycle on the road the rest of the night, the rest of the year." As he finished this, Robert noticed that William was sliding his eyes carefully to one side, toward the desert. Robert whispered carefully, "See anything?" A single car came down the highway. The two men glanced at each other. A wild look of hope flashed in their eyes. But they could not quite bring themselves to fling up their hands and yell. They simply stood with the painted sign held in their arms. The car roared by. The two men followed it with their wistful eyes. The car braked. It backed up. In it were a man, a woman, a boy, a girl. The man called out, "You closed for the night?" William said, "It's no use--" Robert cut in "He means, no use giving us money! Last customer of the day, and family, free! On the house!" "Thank you, neighbor, thank you!" The car roared out onto the viewpoint. William seized Robert's elbow. "Bob, what offs you? Disappoint those kids, that nice family?" "Hush up," said Robert gently. "Come on." The kids piled out of the car. The man and his wife climbed slowly out into the sunset. The sky was gold and blue now, and a bird sang somewhere in the fields of send and bon-pollen. "Watch," said Robert. And they moved up to stand behind the family where it was lined up now to look out over the desert. William held his breath. The man and wife squinted into the twilight uneasily. The kids said nothing. Their eyes flexed and filled with a distillation of late sunlight. William cleared his throat, "It's late. Uh--can't see too--" The man was going to reply, when the boy said, "Oh, we can see fine!" "Sure!" The girl pointed. "There!" The mother and father followed her gesture, as if it might help, and it did. "Lord," said the woman, "for a moment I thought ... But now.. Yes, there it is!" The man read his wife's face, saw a thing there, borrowed it and placed it on the land and in the air. "Yes," he said, at last "Oh, yes." William stared at them, at the desert and then at Robert, who smiled and nodded. The faces of the father, the mother, the daughter, the son were glowing now, looking off at the desert. "Oh," murmured the girl, "is it really there?" And the father nodded, his face bright with what he saw that was just within seeing and just beyond knowing. He spoke as if he stood alone in a great forest church. "Yes. And, Lord, it's beautiful." William started to lift his head, but Robert whispered, "Easy. It's coming. Don’t try. Easy, Will." And then William knew what to do. "I.." he said, "I am going to go stand with the kids." And he walked slowly over and stood right behind the boy and the girl. He stood for a long time there, like a man between two warm fires on a cool evening, and they warmed him and he breathed easy and at last let his eyes drift up, let his attention wander easy out toward the twilight desert and the hoped-for city in the dusk. And there in the dust softly blown high from the land, reassembled on the wind into half-shapes of towers and spires and minarets, was the mirage. He felt Robert's breath on his neck, close, whispering, half talking to himself. "It was a miracle of rare device, A sunny pleasure-dome with caves of ice And the city was there. And the sun set and the first stars came out. And the city was very clear, as William heard himself repeat, aloud or perhaps for only his secret pleasure, "It was a miracle of rare device..." And they stood in the dark until they could not see. 1962 The end Video from the show https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkNGJiNkKJY 4. What is your favorite literary description of a landscape in any poetic style, songs are poetry? I admit I wish I knew better but America the beautiful from katharine lee bates is a really good one. for those who may not know https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/America_the_Beautiful 5. A two part question, first, you can only pick one work of yours for the future to know about, now pick the work, please please link or state it, Second name the person [thespian/elected official/ someone you know personally/ or other] you want to describe the work in audio recordings? 6. Name a landscape artists you adore, adore defined as inspired you as a landscape artist, that is the least known, can be alive or dead, or from before the 1900s or on deviantart? https://www.deviantart.com/bisbiswas/art/Sacred-Dragon-751336918 COMMENT REFERRAL https://www.deviantart.com/comments/1/1236705071/5233061725

Work in progress 2 Which is your favorite? the center + bottom right are the best covers for any mens magazine. That pose in the center, male fantasy. And all men love a woman to do a little ball play:) but my personal favorite is the left center. It is a battle axe, the axe blade doesn't need to be so bearded cause the cutting motion from the top of the axe will get the area and less weight makes it easier to swing. The pike can be more dense which will make it better for armor. the short handle is slick making it ideal for close combat, but the chain , I like it , you can swing this ax and use as a whip gaining very nice distance:) https://www.deviantart.com/dualmask/art/WIPs-set-2-1234842324 I couldn't resist https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M36j_mu6L-c WIP set 1, have all been completed https://www.deviantart.com/dualmask/art/WIPs-1232689278 an earlier sketch card https://www.deviantart.com/dualmask/art/Sketch-Card-Plans-1221990444 AND EN EXTRA TREAT!! Babes with no buttons an October Challenge https://www.deviantart.com/dualmask/art/October-Art-Challenge-991195683 OF all the works, which is your favorite row? I chose mine as the banner image from the following, top row in each image is 1 wip 1 - row 3 WIp 2- row 2 october - row 6 sketch card- row 2

No, THIS is WORST FILM of 2025! (War of the Worlds Remake) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbH3fux3Thoembed my comment Is this funnier than the Room? Worst Film List https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/503248/15-worst-movies-ever-made

Final Fantasy- A Nollywood Film video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgsAPZ7kL9Y Embed Starring Stan Nze , Chy Nwakanma,Scarlet Gomez, Thelma Iheanacho, Alez Ayalogu, Uche Inyamah Directed by Chidi Udensi Produced by Thelma Iheanacho Production manager Emeka Adibe Continuity Cent Micah Duke Soundman Ifeanyi Ochuba Cinematography : Jide Otutu + Tareotu III Fidel Soundtrack Tareotu IV Kennedy A.D. 1 Jide Otutu A.D. 2 John Ugoji Story by Thelma Iheanacho Editor Chidi Udensi Screenplay Chidi Udensi Executive producer Matthew Gbinije Executive producers Thelma Iheanacho + Chidi Udensi Distributed Mogson Production + Movienatics Entertainment Referral https://www.linkedin.com/posts/thelma-victoria-iheanacho-964368121_watch-and-share-this-scintillating-drama-activity-7363838381488750594-vOQd?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAC9jwHcBhMdyfurNH2JmdlAPjJgXHivmWR8

KWL Live Q&A – Multiple Streams of Income with Lisa Lang Blakeney https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpjzgWx2B0w ARTICLE https://www.kobo.com/kobo-writing-life/blog/kwl-live-q-a-multiple-streams-of-income-with-lisa-lang-blakeney EMBED THOUGHTS 3:00 Blakeney was in journalism but wanted to be a writer before. 2013 seriously writing, 2015 first novel 5:00 Took her a long time to write the first book, she wasn't sure. Had a lot of nonfiction. The first book she had been writing for a long time. 6:00 Her talk at romance author mastermind was invigorating 7:00 Why did she go wide? For many authors the easiest route is to be exclusive. She originally selected the easiest path which was a mistake. The first book was pulled from am*zon cause it had a racy title, it shocked her. So her series was obliterated overnight. That was when she decided to go wide. LISA's BOOKS ON KOBO https://www.kobo.com/ww/en/search?query=lisa+lang+blakeney&ac=1&acp=lisa+lang+blakeney&ac.author=lisa+lang+blakeney&sort=Temperature&fclanguages=en 9:00 All income streams add up, it is not as hard as you think 10:00 When she went wide first, she looked for other authors going wide. The good thing is many niche community groups exist. She just learned that even in am*zon you can put your books in libraries. Being active in writing groups to seek information. When she works with new authors the first thing she finds is they are isolated, they don't speak to other authors. She feels you have to do that. 12:00 Wide for the win is a great group you will start with the big five: Kobo/Apple/Google/Barnes and Noble/am*zon https://www.kobo.com/us/en/p/writinglife https://press.barnesandnoble.com/ https://authors.apple.com/publish https://support.google.com/books/partner/answer/3289675?hl=en 14:00 if it is overwhelming to be on all five, then use an aggregator 15:00 Multiple streams of income mean , for google work on SEO of books, for kobo or barnes and nobles that means promotions. 19:00 For apple you have to wait but for others it is top of the month 20:00 It all starts with the building of the newsletter 21:00 always have a part in your newsletter like your treating someone as if they have been their for the first time 22:00 Best way to get kobo is to mention in your newsletter 25:00 Audio was more expensive than translation 28:00 Germany has been her most profitable translated genre for her, and in romance. She translates in French/Italian Translations https://lisalangblakeney.com/translations/ 29:00 If money is the goal and it doesn't seem overwhelming. All translations is the same as English, just having someone translate. 31:00 she found her first translator through a referral . Looking reviews, asking who they worked before, and you pull the trigger. 34:00 In France many books are translations of English while in holland many still read english. She earned her money in translation quicker than in audio. 35:00 Don't translate until it sells in English 36:00 What is setting smart goals? The downside of all the groups is you get a ton of information. Take time and give specific tasks for days 39:00 She loves marketing while she has to be in the zone to write. so the journey is unique for all writers. 42:00 How important is direct revenue? I didn't have huge hopes for a direct store. But she did it. Loe and behold direct sales is a big deal. She doesn't put half the energy some authors do and it is her second biggest income stream and stems from the newsletter. 45:00 she sets monthly goals, then her direct sales store is the lever to make magic happen Her ebooks sell the most from direct sales 46:00 when she found out she was a six figure author it was an accident. She spends more time now auditing herself and having revenue + writing goals. 48:00 she will release 4 books a year. 49:00 we all started on book funnel, the support was there for writers or readers. That is unheard of today. 50:00 she hasn't done a kickstarter. 51:00 Her newsletter really started growing with actual people who are going to read it? Every time you write a book, you need to make bonus material. 52:00 What do you wish you knew when you started? If you want to sustain a business you have to find more eyes. One thing about the business of writing, early adopting of things helps you. 57:00 she has a place for kobo writers to grow https://lisalangblakeney.com/kobo-live/

Ne Zha https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwBIY-EK7h8 my comment Thank you for introducing Ne Zha's origins. Yes, I see how Ne Zha has transformed into a new character. I wonder Ne Zha did outside China in non Asian audiences. Do you know a way to find out? Movies need to be quiet https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEAQm8Op3Hw my comment Milius + Donner were purposeful film storytellers who came from a time where quiet was common in more movies than meets the eye. But so many directors were raised on movies that were never quiet, it has formed their artistic sense. I like Dungeons and Dragons honor among thieves and the last guardians movie too. YEs, peter Jackson is a purposeful storyteller as well. He can know what silence says. Good point on Inside Out 2. Did Inside Out 1 have more silence? I already subscribed but I am paying attention. The problem then is the execs. But that is an old problem in Hollywood or film making. How do you get money from the coiffeurs of the Hollywoods of the world absent the influence of the coiffeurs owners? Forbes statistics are brilliant. 1200 malls closed in twenty years. I had to research what a lifestyle center is, it seems to me, just a tiny mall. 5,700 movie theaters shut down. Excellent industrial assessment. simple/honest/straight forward My question to you is , with the modern culture in the usa cementing, even though you are raised in north America, have you ever considered going to china?

Enjoy https://youtu.be/gbljPQbxtTQ?si=aon1HSmo2V8-EWgK REFERRAL

Deep Space Nine is my favorite Star Trek show and yes, I love Sisko but it is the storytelling + characters. I think it is the best series in that way. and yes I love Discovery, and yes I love Michael Burnham, but it is the voyage. Discovery went more unknown places than any star trek since VOyager while absent Voyager's overall storyline which I think hurt the show... Voyager should never had made it back home , and started a federation in the delta quadrant. https://youtu.be/DxgDqv-Uqnw?si=1AQQ8wiDCJQKhOfz

Where is Norma Rae now? MY EXAMPLE STORY https://www.deviantart.com/hddeviant/art/Where-is-Norma-Rae-now-1223570786 THE CHALLENGE- only a 250 word comment to enter by September 31st 2025 https://www.deviantart.com/hddeviant/journal/Where-Are-They-Now-Norma-Rae-Norma-Rae-1216944037 AUDIO https://www.tumblr.com/communities/black-artist-on-tjambler/post/793533276775235584?source=share https://www.tumblr.com/richardmurrayhumblr/793533249354940416/where-are-they-now-norma-rae-norma-rae-by

ALL Entries for the CLOSED August Birthday 2025 Literary Challenge from @Crliterature on DeviantArt Voting will commence and awards will be given, but give all the writers a congrats!!!! https://www.deviantart.com/hddeviant/journal/August-Birthday-Writing-Challenge-1222529726 MY EXAMPLE PDF https://www.deviantart.com/hddeviant/art/Biround-Mornings-1229347827 Regular Text or Audio https://www.deviantart.com/hddeviant/art/August-Birthday-Writing-Challenge-Example-1223660370 Reader which do you like, did you enjoy? LIST from @meedrowh The birth of a legend - Aria Brinn https://www.deviantart.com/meedrowh/art/1225203000 from @twomig Rebirth https://www.deviantart.com/twomig/art/Rebirth-1222276045 from @supersader9 Misfits High: A New Year https://www.deviantart.com/supersader9/art/Misfits-High-A-New-Year-1230787578 from @aland1w Cinderellas Little Glass Shop https://www.deviantart.com/aland1w/journal/Cinderellas-Little-Glass-Shop-1230687958 from @night--bloom Short Story Contest Entry: Upon a Tiny Girl https://www.deviantart.com/night--bloom/art/Short-Story-Contest-Entry-Upon-a-Tiny-Girl-1232661524 from @ope1ativ3 MIRRORS - A Tale of Tomorrow's Past https://www.deviantart.com/ope1ativ3/art/MIRRORS-A-Tale-of-Tomorrow-s-Past-1231908594 from @sunlits Party Animals: A Deviantart's Tale https://www.deviantart.com/sunlits/art/Party-Animals-A-Deviantart-s-Tale-1234417855 from @peeepod TIME https://www.deviantart.com/peeepod/art/TIME-1235928763 from @oboltus208 Not Without a Reason https://www.deviantart.com/oboltus208/art/Not-Without-a-Reason-1236392167 from @princeoffire Vampire Confrontation https://www.deviantart.com/princeoffire/art/Vampire-Confrontation-1236508270 #crliterature #hddeviant #richardmurrayhumblr #deviantart

MY SUMMARY REPLY There have been a slew of modern Black box office failures. Who (or what) will solve Black cinema’s (marketing) crisis? How many film productions are following Sinners guidelines? What is up with all the trauma in Black film/media? I ask anyone Black who feels to much trauma is in Black media, what books with stories with Black heroes in mythical or fantastical ways written by Black people were available in their home as kids growing up? Why do we need sex on screen? The question I always have to any who question allusions to fornication is, what is wrong with allusions, including lustful ones, to fornication? URL of summary reply https://open.substack.com/pub/blackfilmarchive/p/who-will-solve-black-cinemas-marketing?r=xit0b&utm_campaign=comment-list-share-cta&utm_medium=web&comments=true&commentId=150489193 MY EXTENDED REPLY There have been a slew of modern Black box office failures. Who (or what) will solve Black cinema’s (marketing) crisis? Well crisis? In the art world no film is guaranteed success. I know many writers/illustrators/musicians say some formula works, some formulaic path works, but I have never seen any validity in that. For every film that succeeds being processed one way from preproduction to production to post production, another film failed doing the same things. Now looking at the most financially example in the most recent context for Black Films [films I say are produced/directed/written/mostly starring Black people ] Sinners is the reply. For other films [not produced/directed/written/or mostly starring black people] called Black by many black people I have nothing to say. I don't consider said films with significant non Black participation Black films. To me Antoine Fuqua's King Arthur isn't a black film.[and I like that film] Black Panther produced by Disney isn't a black film. [and I like that film] Shaft from a white writer isn't a black film. [nice soundtrack and love Gordon Parks or Richard Roundtree rest their souls but not my cup of tea] The Foxes of Harrow written by Frank Yerby is not a black film [it is a black book, yes, but it isn't a black film, as a writer if I write a story with mostly white characters that is black fiction, alongside Devil in a Blue Dress or A Raisin in the Sun but a film from my theoretical book is not a black film to me] So to what I call Black films, what do we learn from Sinners? A movie needs to have a large but accessible budget [100 million budget returned 300 million] Having a number of up and coming or well known or brightest thespians to the Black populace who are known outside the black populace doesn't hurt [Michael B Jordan /Hailee Steinfeld/Wunmi Mosaku/Jayme Lawson/ Omar Miller/Delroy Lindo ] Having a one and done focused story [No Sinners 2 is coming, the story was complete from beginning of the film to the end, Black Nightclub in early 1900s southern USA is attacked by vampires, all characters accounted for ] Having a genre black people + non black want to pay ticket prices for [how many saws/aliens/movies get made a year, horror films are a safe genre to reach all audiences, must keep the budget wise or danger, ala Tom Cruise's the Mummy] How many film productions are following Sinners guidelines? What is up with all the trauma in Black film/media? Growing up I remember the People Could Fly, High John the Conqueror, Black Fable collections my parents had, Sun Man, Milestone comics, Daughters of the Dust. And as I got older and Oscar Micheaux and Alice Dunbar Nelson and Zora Neale Hurston works, plays by August Wilson [I have all but Michaeuz in my literature library ] and others I have never felt trauma is overwhelming in the Black fiction. I think too many Black parents didn't do what my Black parents did and made sure a wide array of Black literature was available. Yes, no shame in having Brother Malcolm's and Nkrumah's words on the shelf for Black kids to see. But also have High John the Conquerer, and Fables from the Caribbean. I think many black parents simply fail black children in making sure a wide array of media content from black people is present in the home. My parents were not rolling in dough or diving in coins, but they made sure. Make the effort. Black writers have always existed with uplifting tales. If OScar Micheaux proves anything, he proves that. He went from Black door to Black door presenting his stories all with happy endings for black characters after only some of those black characters had antagonistic scenarios from all sorts of antagonist. Black writers have always made uplifting positive work absent slave whippings by whites or mass rapings by whites or mass destruction by whites. Find them, show them to black children. No excuse. I ask anyone Black who feels to much trauma is in Black media, what books with stories with Black heroes in mythical or fantastical ways written by Black people were available in their home as kids growing up? Why do we need sex on screen? Do we need fornication on screen? I have to step back and admit. The United States of America, cross phenotypical lines, is very religious in a negative way to the issue of fornication. Lets say for example, start commerical, Fade in Jennifer Lopez/Beyonce/Taylor Swift/Michelle Yeoh stand side to side bare breasted and start shaking their torsos as hard as possible and say simultaneously "Bare Breasted" Fade out and on the black screen two hashtags in white positioned side to side #barebreasted #barebreasting End of commercial The media world will go crazy. All of these women have fans throughout humanity, are millionaires, control their lives. But if they show their breast many will say slutty , unwarranted , some negative. But, is it because they are women or because this alludes to a fornicative desires to women? When Monica Bellucci said while married that she can't promise to only sleep with her husband that was a media uproar. Again it isn't that she is a woman but that fornication with women in many religions is not equal in openness to men. Lot slept with his own daughters, this gets read by many christians of all ages every year with acceptability. Lot isn't considered a bad guy, no metoo for his daughters. Samson who runs around killing people with the necks of animals hasn't broken any jewish farm girls hearts in the tale but Delilah is a great sinner cause she is beautiful and Sampson is enthralled to her, not that she is enthralled to him, even though they slept together. It is the inequality in fornication that is the key and it is a human thing. In Islam women can only be to one man but a man can be to multiple women. When married male thespians go naked, women googling at them is acceptable. The desired fornication of a woman running after a male stranger is acceptable. But if an unmarried woman has her nipples showing through her dress, men googling at her is unacceptable. The desired fornication of a man running after a female stranger is unacceptable. Both genders or sexes are criminalized when a female stranger is enticing to a male stranger. While both genders or sexes are accepted when a male stranger is enticing to a female stranger. And in such an environment, all fornication is poorly crafted. The Tan magazine shared has questions: love life of a midget [which is a criminalization of the fornication of midgets], will hollywood let negroes make love [will hollywood let anyone make love?] I argue that many Black people have to first find a more positive place with fornication in their lives before they start asking about it in films. And I can say the same for the non black as well. A Warm December, Buck and the Preacher, Queen and Slim, if Beale Street Could Talk, Mississippi Masala, Claudine, Oscar Michaeux's swing all have scenes in various grades of intensity or style showing love absent nudity or lust. But lust is not evil, and male lust to the body of a female is not evil. At the end of the day Carmen, [and I have seen quite a few variants of Carmen over the years] is a multiculturally embraced story in modernity. Where the men who lust for carmen for her beauty and carmen herself for being beautiful and unbound to any of the men lusting after her are criminalized through the fate of the play. The question I always have to any who question allusions to fornication is, what is wrong with allusions, including lustful ones, to fornication? Saidiya Hartman’s curiosities in “Scenes of Subjection James Baldwin's review of Carmen Jones are cited in the post URL of Article https://open.substack.com/pub/blackfilmarchive/p/who-will-solve-black-cinemas-marketing?r=xit0b&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false Who will solve Black cinema’s marketing crisis? by Maya Cade … and other questions in my inbox on the 4th anniversary of Black Film Archive. Read on Substack

MY COMMENT I think every writer finds out their rhythm eventually cause they have to. The more you write what you find out is you let out alot of imagination. And you start seeing repeating ideas which means you need to embrace what you have created. I give as an example, Edgar Allen Poe. I have his complete works of fiction, poems stories everything in one big book . If I look at my own fiction. I have a larger book , even before the age poe died. And like Poe or every other writer I have more sketches and similars. So, you have to embrace what you have created. And spend more time being honest about new roads of imagination if roads have closed. Keannu reeves and the director of the John Wick series , who collaboratively wrote the stories/screenplays, were going to stop at chapter 3, because they didn't see anything else. It was done. But they saw a story for four and thus did it. But it took some time, because they had made a huge world. And the studios said,after four, where is five now, and they said, they have to wait and see. If John Wick five happens it will be some time. The lesson is the same thing I said, part of writers gaining a schedule is admitting when they have written their imagination out. When I look at some movies for certain manga like Ghost in the shell with johanssen or the Statian, Avatar the last airbender movie from shamalah. The problem the movies have is both shows/books covered everything. They did everything you could do. No hour and a half movie was going to do something new that hadn't already been done in the show with the main characters. So, they both needed to go to uncharted places. Back to John Wick, when you look at the Ballerina film, the coming Kane film, that proves my point. John Wick has been completely done. But the world created for John Wick has space for other characters to be born and grow. And that relates to all writers. If you have burned out, and I am lucky to not have, look back at your work and realize its worth. You may find more than you realized. Have patience and relax, you earned it based on volume, even if you don't have million dollar book deals or contracts to write screenplays. COMMENT URL https://substack.com/note/c-150400293 POST URL from Alicia McCalla https://aliciamccalla.substack.com/p/permission-to-stop-burning-out-the Permission to Stop Burning Out: The Rhythm That Saved My Writing Life by Alicia McCalla How I Stopped Chasing Word Counts And Started Building A Sustainable Author Empire Read on Substack

The government of the USA is at a time demanding change. The population in it, requires changes not merely in personel, but in the structure of the bureaucracy. In times like these for any government all the agendas/powers/impotencies/attempts/failures to manipulate the system will lead to a result most , whether they like it or not, will have to live with. MY COMMENT @aka Contrarian Well, historically the union you refer to arguably has never existed outside of the law. The southern states only embraced independence from the british empire on condition that enslaving would be untouched and thus they saw it as a way to make more money, not for any human equality or egalitarian reason , so from the beginning the two blocks of states existed. The war between the states prove from cessation from the british empire to said war, the two blocks existed. Jim crow's variance, from the end of the war between the states to the late 1970s prove two blocks, from the northern block where black people were herded into cities that were then cut off from funding while whites went into northern suburbs to the southern block where black towns were terrorized to never be able to grow ever beyond an impoverished place, forcing black people away even leaving loved ones to die by lynch mobs. Now from the 1980s to 2025 you have a traditional southern white populace voting/planning to preserve itself in the southern block while the traditional northern white populace has integrationed itself unlike any time in usa history which has presented a multiracial component to northern states life that makes it foreign to southern states which are tribalized internally. The problem militaristically is the usa has the largest horde of nuclear weapons of any government in modern humanity, the largest military operation of any government in modern humanity, and with a split, who controls those weapons? and yes, that matters and yes even if both blocks of states were fully engaged, both will want that control. Now, legally, one way exists for the usa to split. So you have a set of states, meant to be self sufficient, in a federation for collective defense with a complete history of abrasive variance in heritage or culture. A military operation that is the largest in the world and will be fought over if a break up occurs. What is the solution? The declaration of independence + the amendment process. The declaration of independence clearly states, that any form of government is acceptable if the populace want it. People in the usa talk of voting but the truth is, the declarations words show that a monarchy can return as long as the people truly support it. The rule of the people from the declaration isn't about voting or elected office, it is about a more abstract idea of people power making any government style or form possible. To restate , the declaration of independence isn't saying a monarchy is undemocratic. it is saying a monarchy the people don't want is undemocratic. So, a splitting of a federation into two isn't against the spirit of the declaration of independence. And the amendment process literally allows for any law to become instilled. An unchangeable law that breaks the usa into two federations is completely possible by the amendment process. Congressional law or Supreme court rulings or executive orders all have limitations or impotencies. but the amendment process alone adds to the constitution with no manipulation, afterward or during. So the question is what is the wisest law to make an amendment to the us constitution to you get the states to split ? The military and the financial power of the usa are the impediments. A white sheet wearing, confederacy cross tatoo having white man from an all white mississippi town will not accept the "southern block" not having the us military for protection or the financial clout of the dollar operating in his life. A kente cloth wearing lgbtq+ flag tattoo having white transexual woman from San Francisco will not accept the "northern block" not having the us military for protection or the financial clout of the dillar operating in her life. Now once you take those two things away , it is doable. So what can this hypothetical proposed amendment be? The federal government will remain as a protector to two federations but modulated. The constitution remains in tact, but on freeze, until the two federations unite. The congress is frozen, abolished until reunion. The supreme court is frozen and abolished until reunion. The us military remains in tact protecting all the states, but now the president has only the district of columbia+ territories of the usa as places the president is privy to. No camp david. All military bases in the fifty states need to be evacuated by the us military to not show favoritism or influence. The territories of the usa: guam/Puerto rico /virgin islands/various pacific ocean islands will have to be fitted for military bases. Guantanemo in cuba as well. The federal reserve must remain. Both the "Northern Block" + "Southern Block" have their own judiciary + their own congress. Some sort of arrangement on federal funds [nitty gritty] will have to be decided. Southern block will not want population to decide and want some weight scale. While Northern Block will want a wider range of residents to allow for federal funds. It is impossible to see, but here is the problem. The people of the USA are little peoples really. Always have been. The First Peoples aren't powerful enough. The DOSers aren't communal enough. The Whites are not honest enough. The immigrants aren't realistic enough. They all will reject anything like what I just said, even though it fits legal parameters, is nonviolent, and embraces giving the three hundred million plus strangers a little of the space, most have always wanted from some other. The problem aka contrarian is the same thing that plagued the war between the states. General Beausejour tlred Robert Lee or dreamy jefferson davis the simple engineering truth. Put up a fence, on the mason dixie, focus the military south to mexico to get a trade outlet and were done, success the confederacy exist. But, Lee , an old white man who like so many white people in the usa, remembers the good old days for whites while doesn't consider how terrible said days were for others, wanted to prove he could take the whole country, a last horah for the silver haired general, very napoleonic, who also acted as stupidly in his european conquest. Jefferson Davis who clearly envied Lincoln wasn't happy with his slice of the pie and wanted to one up. But Lee + Davis were not alone. The generals of the Union including Grant as well as Abraham Lincoln were guilty as well. Lincoln could had ordered the same line be drawn but didn't for pride. He goaded Lee and Davis , knowing them well, and while some suggest incorrectly, he preserved the union, what he did was betray his role as the commander in chief. The role of the commander in chief is the safety of everyone in the usa. If Lincoln was serious about that safety he would had placed a fence, since the north had maritime control very early on and thus all the sea trade advantage and embraced the two state solution. The president's job is the safety of all people in the usa, even if the people don't want to be together. All those deaths in the war between the states are Lincoln's fault and are not forgivable for the constitution through the amendment process allows for complete government flexibility through the law+ the declaration of independence allows for complete government modulation. If brothers are tired of brothers then let them split. why fight the will of the people Lincoln? The answer is pride. And Lincoln's pride cost more than the white community, Jim Crow and the never ending waves of assault on First peoples, commonly called native americans, is lincoln's fault as well, because in forcing the union, he forced the dislike that led to the war between the states in the first place to mutate into various other things, whether he lived or was assasinated. The generals of the Union pre Grant, were clearly envious of Lee and wanted to best him thus their foolish zeal, which led to the need to get black troops which mean those generals had literally made the primary error of any commander in war by not assessing your army properly. to make a plan that forces your army to change is the sign of the utmost mismanagement. I end with Grant. Grant inherited a problem. The war was at a stalemate. William Tecumseh Sherman correctly realized the stalemate after all the bloodshed would never end in peaceful resolution as long as the confederacy could fight. The time for that was at the beginning of the war with General Beauregard's plan , which lincoln, lee, davis earlier generals of the union all wasted with their agendas. Sherman allowed Grant to not be the bad guy and go for the throat. Grant did and it was over. The north always had trade supremacy. The south never figured out how to improve trade, which is why Beauregard told them to do that. And the point of this is, regardless of people who have wisdom, the usa then circa 1865 and now circa 2025, have a populace of people who are like Lee, Lincoln, Davis, they love telling another I told you so, making them see "The Light". This is not restricted to the U.S.A. It is very human and always when you have abrasive groups who share a heritage but have a different heritage as well and especially a different culture. If North Korea would had not needed to have the entire peninsula and let south Korea be a little city state at the south of the island circa May 1950 North Korea would be most of the Korean peninsula today, absent any intervention by USA or China or Russia or Europe. If Ireland would just let Northern Ireland go no talks of continuing troubles will persist. If the Yoruba/Igbo/Hausa can accept they don't want to be Nigerian, they can grow freely better from each other. The anglophiles in Jamaica and the Rastafariansin Jamaica can realize that their two paths can never make one Jamaica... As in this little community, African American Literary Book Club, in the massive world wide web proves in its forum daily, the ability of Statians to "I told you so" is so strong, they love to do that offer acting functionally to the causes they say they want. And so what I say will not occur in the USA, which is the functional answer to your call. URL REFERRAL https://aalbc.com/tc/topic/11814-another-mass-shooting-national-guard/#findComment-75721 IN AMENDMENT @aka Contrarian Well I am going to defend your original position and not because your birthday recently passed:) You didn't make a mistake at all. What you said originally wasn't simple, it was the truth. The truth doesn't have to be an essay, or speech, nor should it be expanded or contracted in verbosity. It can be one sentence. My entire reply simply supported your one sentence, so my reply wasn't needed. Is it not true the first peoples, commonly called the native american, warrant their own country? Is it not true DOSers warrant their own country? Is it not true Whites have killed and enslaved nonwhites to their benefit in their country, the USA? Is it not true, immigrants come to the usa for the impotency under the governments they left? If all of the prior questions are true how is what you said not the truth? The problems aren't complicated either, the problems are the truth. Whites don't know how to lose. Centuries of winning does that. First people and DOSers don't know how to win, centuries of losing does that. The immigrants don't want instability. They came because the usa is stable. A break up of the usa is instability, shaking things up. The one thing immigrants fear more than anything cause instability reminds them of the countries whose flags they wear in the usa. The problems are simple, the people of the usa are the problem. And you have never suggested prescience , you are too wise for that. I will amend, time plus life is hope. Change is usually gradual but not always. And the truth is, the choices people make determine the future. Even if they think their choice is unimportant. Cause every life touches another even after a passing.

My Sudowoodo do you see him in the poster below? https://www.deviantart.com/hddeviant/art/Sudowoodo-at-the-Library-submit-to-charity-1214090375 Library Project Poster from @goldenemotions https://www.deviantart.com/goldenemotions/art/Library-Project-Poster-1233375459 Here is the library, the goal of the charity https://discord.com/channels/619731511716872205/972156466511355914/1410328199308771339

Don't Call Me Crazy! I'm Just in Love Paperback – February 4, 2014 by Swiyyah Nadirah Woodard @Swiyyah She believes she’s found the man of her dreams. But what if her mind is playing tricks? Anika Muhammad struggles to trust men. But after meeting a handsome playa in her business course, she unexpectedly falls head over heels. Yet she can’t forgive his once-wandering ways and is paralyzed by paranoia that he must be cheating. Seeking something better, Anika gravitates toward an attractive artist whose religious beliefs open her up to a new spiritual world. But some part of her still wants to marry her smooth-talking ladies’ man, and her desperate choices are driving her to the edge of sanity. Can Anika conquer her inner demons before she loses the guy who truly holds her heart? https://aalbc.com/tc/topic/11790-urban-fiction-women-fiction-readers/

A Gardin Wedding from Rosey Lee @Rosey Lee A Gardin Wedding May 13, 2025 A Gardin Wedding: A Gardins of Edin Novel Book Cover Images image of A Gardin Wedding: A Gardins of Edin Novel by Rosey Lee BOOK REVIEW IN AALBC https://aalbc.com/book_review/9780593445518 MY REVIEW “When we really fell for each other, the rules we were playing by changed.” These wise words from Martha, a character in A Gardin Wedding by Rosey Lee, encapsulate the novel’s emotional depth. As the second book in the A Gardins of Edin series, it explores growth in a premarital environment through characters spanning various adult age groups. The theme of personal and relational development forms the core of the story. Lee employs gentle comedy and elegant, illustrative descriptions of fashion to shift the novel’s tone. The two main characters, a couple introduced in the first book, find their love intertwined with a broader cast than before. While Lee guarantees a happy ending in her preface, any reader will likely question that certainty at some point. A Gardin Wedding retains the stylistic elements and framework of the first book but expands its scope, presenting dramatic love across two clans instead of just one. Unlike many authors' sequels, Lee refrains from heavy exposition—a skill often lacking in follow-up novels. She beautifully portrays the love of Black people through belle couture, bringing richness and sophistication to her descriptions. Malcolm X once said, “I was going through the hardest thing, also the greatest thing, for any human being to do: to accept that which is already within you, and around you.” Every couple in A Gardin Wedding is navigating distinct phases of accepting what is already between them and around them. That environment—a thriving, mature, and financially successful Black community—made for an immensely joyful and rewarding read.

Freedom at Dawn: Robert Smalls’s Voyage Out of Slavery from LEah Schanke @Leah Schanke Freedom at Dawn: Robert Smalls’s Voyage Out of Slavery Apr 10, 2025 Freedom at Dawn: Robert Smalls’s Voyage Out of Slavery Book Cover Images image of Freedom at Dawn: Robert Smalls’s Voyage Out of Slavery by Leah Schanke, Illustrated by Oboh Moses BOOK REVIEW IN AALBC https://aalbc.com/book_review/9780807524282 MY REVIEW Frederick Douglass once said, “The American Government and the American Constitution are spoken of in a manner which would naturally lead the hearer to believe that one is identical with the other; when the truth is, they are distinct in character as is a ship and a compass.” (The Constitution of the United States: Is It Pro-Slavery or Anti-Slavery?; source) This statement came two years and two months before Robert Smalls sailed a steamboat, carrying his wife, children, and peers in its belly, successfully using a compass to freedom during the inescapable Civil War on May 13, 1862. In Freedom at Dawn: Robert Smalls’s Voyage Out of Slavery, the historical fiction by South Carolinian descendant Leah Schanke, the narration comes from Lizzy, the daughter of Robert Smalls. Lizzy’s voice provides unbroken, honest grammar and a slightly geographic but accessible style for modern U.S. readers. Her narration maintains the pace and tone of the escape adventure in the title, crafted for four- to eight-year-olds. Lizzy’s story conveys the fear and consequences of failure without delving into the most gruesome pains of slavery—details that would be difficult for children to comprehend, inconvenient for adults to explain in today’s context, or too vast for a book of this size to contain. While the Civil War serves as the backdrop, Lizzy’s narration avoids suggesting that either side in the war was primarily concerned with the enslaved seeking freedom. This nuance emphasizes that escapes to freedom were driven by the enslaved themselves, unbound to the motives of any army or navy. It’s a subtle but vital message to convey to children—one that many adults may not even know. Schanke’s story concludes with peace after adversity, and her author’s note provides additional context about the fate of the Smalls family, satisfying the curiosity of parents, educators, and readers alike. The illustrations by Oboh Moses are vibrant digital constructs, blending the textures of oil and watercolor. The colors shift to match the text’s mood and tempo, enhancing the narrative’s dramatic effects. Lizzy and the other characters are depicted with authenticity, and Moses’s illustrations often suggest that Lizzy is recounting the story to her younger self, a heartwarming touch. If you appreciate the works of Ezra Jack Keats—his illustrative forms, colors, and narrative focus—the combination of Schanke and Moses in Freedom at Dawn will undoubtedly satisfy you. Frederick Douglass remarked in 1867, five years after Smalls’s escape, “It is by comparing one nation with another, and one learning from another, each competing with all, and all competing with each, that hurtful errors are exposed.” (Our Composite Nation; source) This book exposes the error of slavery through a child’s lens, set between two governments fighting over destiny.

HAMILTON HEIGHTS and SUGAR HILL: Alexander Hamilton's Old Harlem Neighborhood Through the Centuries by Davida Siwisa James @DeeSiwisa Fordham University Press: Empire State Editions Nonfiction; 432 pages; 126 illustrations: PUBLICATION DATE: April 2, 2024 ISBN-13: 978-1531506148 REFERRAL IN AALBC https://aalbc.com/tc/topic/10792-hamilton-heights-and-sugar-hill-book-review-request/ MY REVIEW "Indeed, the average Harlemite's impression of white folk, democracy and life in general is rather bad. Naturally if you live on nice, tree lined, quiet convent avenue, even though you are colored, it would never occur to you to riot or break windows." Langston Hughes Davida Siwisa James unbiased, temporally complete history book achieves three goals of equal value. One, to be as definitive a history book to the Hamilton Heights or Sugar Hill sections of Harlem. No single book has the length to cover the complete history of Harlem, that will demand an encyclopedia which reading this book proves. Two, to explain through the history of said regions in Harlem how Harlem has heritages of blemished grandeurs that includes all people from the Native American populace before European colonies to the time of this prose in the Gregorian year two thousand and twenty-four. Said heritages warrant preservation that can become a living example of multiracial coexistence in the USA if implemented equal to all. Three, to explain how the negativities: negative biases from whites to non-whites, negative biases from the financially wealthy of any phenotype to the financially poor of any phenotype, negative bias from New York City in ruling/governing/administering Harlem, created a constancy of: lies, malfunctions, pains that have always hindered the reach of grandeurs born in Harlem but have not stymied the potential of Harlem. Said potential of Harlem is to be the truest example of peaceful positive productive life for pan-individuals in the declaration that many in humanity cling to as a hope. Siwisa, a Harlemite, achieves all three intricate, modernly purposeful, goals. She uses a straightforward temporal sequence, as chapters, from the time of the Lenape, long gone outside name places, to the time of New York City's first Black Mayor, Harlemite David Dinkins. Unlike most historians, who try to provide a history to a place from its past to modernity, she was able to communicate with residents long gone or residents relatively new, while including her own life, to support the temporal width of her work. Reading this book, you can tell Siwisa loves Harlem but isn't willing to accept a great memory. She wants to fight against the literary plus nonliterary challenges the region has to live with. I, a Harlemite, was unaware that Harlem was to be named Lancaster by the British empire on winning New Amsterdam and turning it into New York. But from the time of New Amsterdam onward, which the book conveys through Harlemites named Hamilton/Jumel/Deforest/Hughes/Williams/Powell jr./Spollen, the region has constantly been a chess piece for New York City and a harbor for the heart of New York City's culture of integration. If you don't know about Harlem, this book is a great starting point for it will create a proper framework to comprehending the region which has, sadly, a heritage of being mislabeled or mis-defined or misrepresented, even when mostly white before the New Negro Movement. If you know about Harlem, you already know Harlem has a vast history, that involves the entire racial landscape of the USA. But you will learn many new things about Harlem through the Hamilton Heights or Sugar Hill regions, which are the main subject of the book. The entire history in the book is supported evenly by photographic or illustrative evidence, which is mandatory in modern times while also serving as undeniable proof for naysayers to Harlem's various periods of grandeur in its history. Harlem's history is as bright as the light off the skyscrapers to its south, while the perception of it is plagued by a shadow that was and is constructed or maintained by those in or out of Harlem. Let this book take down the blinds page by page.

The Gardins of Edin from Rosey Lee The Gardins of Edin Jan 09, 2024 The Gardins of Edin Book Cover Images image of The Gardins of Edin by Rosey Lee @Rosey Lee BOOK REVIEW IN AALBC https://aalbc.com/book_review/9780593445495 MY REVIEW “What if I’m not too old to have a happy childhood now?” is a poignant line from the character Ruth in The Gardins of Edin by Rosey Lee, a novel that begins with apprehension and confusion but ends with a sense of fulfillment. The book explores modern relationship dynamics, with a central theme of personal growth: healing from the past, being steady in the present, and not seeking perfection in the future. Not every character in the book learns or desires this lesson, but it lies at the heart of each of their stories. The story is driven by four central characters: Ruth, who manages a family business that has long been a pillar in the local community; Naomi, the emotional center of the family; Mary, an aspiring restaurateur; and her sister Martha, a doctor. These four Black women from the south are each on a journey of self-discovery, while also grappling with the evolving dynamics of their family and community. The novel, which spans roughly 300 pages, has two main plot arcs that delve into their personal and shared challenges. While some characters may evoke frustration with their negativity, the book never suggests that their futures will be entirely bleak. Instead, it’s a feel-good drama that features flawed, realistic characters whose weaknesses are neither exaggerated nor overly moralized. For fans of well-crafted, character-driven stories with genuine emotional depth, this book is a great fit. Although the back cover hints at larger conflicts, the story isn’t about grand battles over empires; it's more about the internal struggles and infighting within a close-knit community. The characters wrestle with concealing painful pasts, and the hidden scars of that past pose real threats to their relationships. These conflicts are handled with sincerity, never veering into melodrama or caricature, but they do create the possibility of lasting damage if left unresolved. The novel doesn’t position itself as a guide on mental or physical health, but it does offer insights into both. Through the characters' struggles, the value of mental and heart health is subtly highlighted, adding another layer of depth to the story. I found myself learning more about these topics without the narrative losing focus or becoming preachy. The readers’ guide at the end of the book revealed something I should have noticed right away—if it had been a snake, it would have bitten me! While The Gardins of Edin may seem like a clear reference to the biblical Garden of Eden, the book doesn’t feel like a Christian allegory or preach to the reader. The Christianity of some characters is important to their individual stories, but it doesn’t dominate the narrative or alienate readers of different beliefs. Finally, this book sets up its characters in such a way that a sequel could easily follow, though it’s not necessary. By the end, The Gardins have found peace, and the story feels complete as it is.

Title: I wrote you 37 letters Authors: Dee Miller @Dee Miller Reading Age range: ISBN: 979-8-218-09319-8 Published: 12/2022 REFERRAL IN AALBC https://aalbc.com/tc/topic/10016-i-wrote-you-37-letters-book-review-request/ Phillis Wheatley said:" The world is a severe school master, for its frowns are less dangerous than its smiles and flatteries"; said danger comes in what is inspired. Wheatley comprehended a flattery from an enemy may inspire short term glee while inspire long term resentment. " I wrote you 37 letters" is a tool in the form of an epistolary to aid in a reader inspiring themselves through their own writing, motivated by Miller's letters which cover an extensive set of mental or spiritual states. No book can ever cover the infinite states of the mind or infinite states of the soul. The honesty in each letter , discarding the selling or advertising style may writers will choose , is purposeful; said purpose is to convince the reader that these letters are not meant to be sermons or meant to be self righteous. Even if the variance in length of letters, yes 37 in total , will negatively alarm some readers. Those who want help getting to hear their own: honest<Dear Moment In Time>, confessional <A Letter To My Big>, at times praising<Dear Mommie>, unashamed to what is deemed shameful <Dear Secret Lover> voice have a chance to be convinced to do so before they reach the end of this book. The book offers a path way for a reader to share their voice to a larger audience but it needs polishing to read like a more secure request in the age of lawsuits that is modern USA.

Title: Soil Sisters Magical Garden Adventure: Savoring the Soul of Mother Earth Authors: Bobbi J Simmons , Thomas Simmons @Jean2021 Illustrator: Blakely Frederick Reading Age range: Publisher: BlackGold Publishing (May 1, 2023) Paperback: 39 pages ISBN-10: 1953130267 ISBN-13: 978-1953130266 REFERRAL IN AALBC https://aalbc.com/tc/topic/10407-book-reviews MY REVIEW John Boyd Jr , founder of the National Black Farmer's Association said: "I'm owning land that many of my forefathers worked when it was scotch-free. You know - slave labor man" The relationship that Black people whose forebears were enslaved have to the land that compose the states of the U.S.A. is older than the U.S.A. itself; it is a relationship that introduced the yam, varieties of rice, introduced the okra into the cuisine of the entire populace of the U.S.A.; it is a relationship full of blood, from black bodies after exposure to white whips, white laws, white guns nourishing the soil. A relationship most of said blacks want to forget for obvious reasons. But, Bobbi J Simmons side her husband, Tommy Simmons, compose a loving Black descended of enslaved couple who don't want the relationship forgotten. Not to deny the painful shedding of blood but to keep alive the pride in the craft, the heritage of loving nature, that exist alongside the painful blood in said relationship. In their book, Soil Sisters Magical Garden Adventure, they focus their efforts on the children, the youngest descendants of those enslaved in the U.S.A. , who in majority have been denied learning or knowing of said relationship for said negative reasons. The Simmons weave a simple tale of love, love of growing things, as pure as Bilbo Baggins love for the shire in "the hobbit". The goal, the road, the prize are all the same, watching something in nature you nurture spread joy throughout your life. The illustrations from Blakely have functional color tones, and usually reflect the prose the authors set. Some parents or adult readers may be offset or opposed to certain word choices but I argue the language is appropriate to the audience of young children who should be forgiven as well for a few emissions of their dialect or a few slip ups of the tongue. All readers: child, parent, teacher will enjoy the historical pages; each give a key factor plus visage of a historical figure but said readers will also want more of them. The most important aspect in the book is what can not be read. It is the seeds that come with the book, which surprised me. The little packet of seeds provide children or parents or teachers an offline chance to do more than be inspired from or enjoy reading a story about black youth loving to grow things, supported by their local community while supporting their local community, even with spiritual help when need be; it allows all who buy the book a chance to do offline as the characters in the book, on land they own. And even if said land is only a small pot, the heritage of love to the land Black people grow in the USA: the Simmons prose speaks of, Blakely's art visualizes, Boyd jr. organizes for gains another Black person on an adventurous path to embracing. That is a worthy cause and the only way to lessen the growth of the negativity from the past is to grow another tree that emphasizes the positivity from the past.